neigh
Americanverb (used without object)
-
neighs,
present (3rd person singular)
-
neighed,
past participle, past
-
neighing
present participle
noun
-
neighs
plural
noun
verb
-
(intr) to make a neigh or a similar noise
-
(tr) to utter with a sound like a neigh
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
neighsimple
-
neighssimple
-
have neighedperfect
-
has neighedperfect
-
am neighingprogressive
-
are neighingprogressive
-
is neighingprogressive
-
have been neighingperfect progressive
-
has been neighingperfect progressive
Past
-
neighedsimple
-
had neighedperfect
-
was neighingprogressive
-
were neighingprogressive
-
had been neighingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of neigh
before 1000; Middle English ney ( gh ) en, Old English hnǣgan, cognate with Middle Dutch neyen, Old Saxon hnēgian, Middle High German nēgen, Old High German hneigen, Old Norse hneggja; akin to Old Saxon hnechian; Middle Dutch nighen, Middle Low German nigen, Middle High German nyhen; and, with intrusion in the initial, Old Norse gneggja, Norwegian kneggja. See nag 2
Explanation
The sound that a horse makes is called a neigh. A horse's happy neigh is sometimes a greeting to other horses. You can use neigh to talk about the noise your horse makes, also known as a whinny or a bray. Neigh is also a verb: horses neigh cheerfully or in frustration, and your little brother might like to ride a broomstick wildly around the house and neigh. The word comes from the Old English hnægan, which is most likely imitative of the actual sound of a neigh. In other words, it's an example of onomatopoeia — when a word sounds like what it means.
Vocabulary lists containing neigh
Inside Out & Back Again
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
"The Railway Train" by Emily Dickinson
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Tolkien Reading Day, List 3
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Even on the backside, it seemed like any other race day: Workers tended to horses who let out the occasional neigh.
From Seattle Times ● May 6, 2023
In another, Catherine answers he insult of the horse business by gamely grinning as she replies, "I wanted to. But the horse said no, and neigh means nay!"
From Salon ● May 15, 2020
The horse gave a short snort and neigh, then paced around the equestrian center, one of eight shelters for animals affected by the Sand fire.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 25, 2016
More neigh sauce: We can’t tell you the secret ingredient .
From Washington Post ● May 25, 2016
When they opened their mouths to neigh, Aru saw that their teeth were tightly furled white buds.
From "Aru Shah and the End of Time" by Roshani Chokshi
Yes, he neighs and whinnies and you can ride him and, as Woody notes, he gallops like the wind.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 17, 2026
Eardrums drenched in the whirring neighs of 1,000 mechanical horses.
From BBC ● Mar. 25, 2024
The natural vistas and the rhythmic clomping of the steed beneath you can indeed be lulling, but then suddenly Bismarck gets spooked by something and jerks and neighs.
From Washington Times ● Sep. 7, 2017
He has Denise play the girl, and he plays the horse, communicating only in whinnies and neighs.
From The Verge ● Oct. 2, 2014
Sag´ittary, a monster, half man and half beast, described as “a terrible archer, who neighs like a horse, and with eyes of fire which strike men dead like lightning.”
From Character Sketches of Romance, Fiction and the Drama A Revised American Edition of the Reader's Handbook, Vol. 3 by Ebenezer Cobham Brewer
After the Jets’ first three-and-out, I neighed and whinnied like a horse.
From New York Times ● Dec. 12, 2021
“He is how the pilgrims used to travel back then,” said Ms. García-Inés as Óscar neighed outside the old stone inn where the travelers had stopped.
From New York Times ● Nov. 6, 2021
The horses neighed and slowed, but they couldn’t stop in time, and they collided into the first car.
From Scientific American ● Feb. 21, 2014
The animals neighed at each other and sometimes raised up their front legs, causing fear and pandemonium.
From Scientific American ● Feb. 21, 2014
A horse neighed softly as she slipped into the darkened stables.
From "A Clash of Kings" by George R.R. Martin
A hue, a cry, a gnashing of teeth and maybe the angry neighing of horses will be heard across the land at the debut of the newly redecorated “Little House on the Prairie.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 9, 2026
They started outside in the parking lot of the Clemente, galloping and neighing like horses.
From New York Times ● Jun. 19, 2023
There’s one sound people think is a neighing horse, but it was a horn.
From The Guardian ● Feb. 12, 2019
They are the ghosts of our future, neighing for us to follow them.
From Salon ● Aug. 2, 2018
The wagon suddenly lurched to one side, the horse snorting and neighing as it pulled at the reins.
From "Copper Sun" by Sharon M. Draper
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
